Ninety One UK Ltd Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 106.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 352,789 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182,272 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $45,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1,676.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $162.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $104.18 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $158.12 and a 200 day moving average of $139.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.45 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.63.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.